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GAA

26th Oct 2019

Dublin’s Ciaran Archer taking the biscuit with the cheekiest panenka penalty

Niall McIntyre

Ciaran Archer has confidence and he has the game to back it up too.

In Dublin, there always seems to be another one coming and the St Maurs’ youngster looks like the next best thing. Niall Scully, Brian Howard. Both leapt in seamlessly and Archer could be next.

He could even be the best.

For the county’s under-20s this year, the man from Rush was peerless. He showed the type of form that could even get a man like Jim Gavin excited.

In just three games in Leinster he racked up 6-24 (5-5 from play) as no defender from inside the province could do so much as lay a glove on him.

And he brought that to the All-Ireland stages too. Galway were ruthlessly dismantled as he racked up what was by this stage a routine tally of 2-6. Just another day.

The consistency is frightening. Archer seems level headed and composed. Dublin were surprisingly defeated by Cork in the under-20 final but Arhcer could hardly be blamed, he hit 1-5 that day including 1-2 from play.

It really does like it’s only a matter of time.

Nowadays, he’s keeping himself ticking with the DCU freshers team and he’s still ending games with ridiculous tallies alongside his name.

DCU gave Maynooth a 4-17 to 1-12 beating in the freshers league and that man Archer was in the groove, notching up 1-5. His paneka penalty was like something Gaelic football has rarely seen before.

The skill required to pull that off shouldn’t be underestimated. The height of the chip underlines that point even more.

Not since Paul Mannion, Ciaran Kilkenny or Con O’Callaghan have Dublin had an underage talent so luminous. Ciaran Archer has a left peg to beat the band and it won’t be long before he’s heard tell of at the senior grade.